I'm posting here a copy of the complaint I just filed against Pam Morris, the CEO of Amber Property Management in Mission Viejo, CA. Right now, about 20% of us live in communities controlled by HOAs and serviced by property management companies. As far as I'm concerned these HOA's are a legal and financial disaster. Overtime, I expect we will learn to understand them better and develop improved ways of holding them accountable to our bylaws and state regulations. In the meantime, I thought it would be useful to post my complaint in the forum to illustrate how it can be done. I'll keep you informed of the results. The text of my allegations follows:
I’m alleging that Pam Morris, CEO, Amber Property Management
violated at least three sections of the Community Associations Institute's (CAI) Professional Code of Ethics. Here
is the background.
Staff at Amber Property Management sent out a Call to Candidates
for an upcoming election to the Board of Directors of Del Prado HOA. One of the
people most interested in running for the Board of Directors, Ashlie Hadley,
did not receive a copy of the Call for Candidates documents even though it had
been promised to her in the newsletter. Ms. Hadley has attended all board
meetings for the last year and a half and was highly interested in running for
one of the three open seats. After Ms. Hadley failed to turn in a form
announcing her candidacy and her name was not included in the ballot materials
sent to her fellow homeowners. After the ballots were mailed out, Ms. Hadley
complained that she did not receive a copy of the Call for Candidates documents.
According to Amber Property Management, the reason why Ms.
Hadley did not receive a copy of the Call for Candidates documents is that she
elected to receive her communications from Amber Property Management by e-mail.
Amber Property Management reports that it did not send the Call for Candidates
document to any of our members who elected to receive their information by
e-mail. By not sending Ms. Hadley a Call for Candidates document, AmberProperty Management violated Section 5
of the CAI Professional Code of Ethics by failing to “...exercise due care and
perform planning and supervision as specified in the written management
agreement, job description or duly adopted Board policies.” This lack of due
care was so great that at least 42 homeowners or approximately 10% of our members
did not receive the Call for Candidate document.
Moreover, Ms. Morris violated Section 8 for the CAI Professional Code of Ethics by failing to
“Insure that homeowners receive timely notice as required by state statutes or
legal documents and protect their right of appeal.”
Without seeking the approval of the full board of directors
in either a special meeting or an emergency meeting, Ms. Morris issued a
statement announcing the cancellation of the March 8, 2016 Annual Meeting. This
statement was postmarked February 16, 2016. I have attached a copy of this
document and the envelope it came in. I allege that Ms. Morris violated Section 3 of the CAI Professional Code
of Ethics which says she must: “Act in the best interests of the client;
refrain from making inaccurate or misleading representations or statements; not
knowingly misrepresent facts to benefit the Manager.” Specifically, she
violated our Del Prado HOA bylaws which do not allow for the cancellation of
the annual meeting at all. In addition, she violated our Del Prado HOA bylaws
by sending a 2nd Call for Candidates without obtaining a decision to
authorize that mailing from the full Board of Directors of Del Prado HOA.
